Stay on target

Even though Final Fantasy XV is finally out in stores after being in production for the better part of a decade, it isn’t quite finished yet. Over the course of the upcoming year, the game will receive a number of free updates that will add new gameplay elements as well as brand-new cutscenes that are meant to deepen the overall story and the plotlines of certain characters.

The upcoming changes were detailed on Square-Enix’s blog by FFXV director, Hajime Tabata. The first thing to be addressed in the patch will be the often criticized Chapter 13. Tabata didn’t go into much detail about how this segment will be changed, but he did say that the magical ring item has been buffed to make this portion less annoying to play through.

Some aspects of FFXV‘s story weren’t thoroughly fleshed out. As such, new cutscenes that help explain the plot and character motivations will be introduced. However, Tabata makes it clear that this will take some time because these portions will need to be localized and voiced for multiple regions.

Over on the gameplay side of things, a New Game Plus mode will be added that allows users to carry over stats from previous playthroughs over to a new game. New bosses with unique rewards and achievements/trophies will be introduced, as well as new playstyles like low-level runs and God Mode. Expect limited-time hunts also.

There is no specific time frame on any of these updates right now, but considering how long fans have had to wait for Final Fantasy XV, I’m sure a few more months won’t hurt them. In addition to all of these free pieces of DLC, there will also be priced downloadable content that will trickle out during the holiday and over the next year. For December, a free update will allow the PlayStation 4 Pro version of the game to run at or close to 60 frames per second.